Despite the ongoing turmoil within the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society, breed president, Alex Sanger, remains geared up for the World Forum, which will not only showcase many of the top herd’s in the UK, but also the benefits of the No 1 global beef brand.
In recent weeks, the society has witnessed the resignation of it’s chief executive, communications manager and several board members, and this week there have been threats of break-away organisations, as the internal wranglings continue (see letter on page 9). 
Yet, Mr Sanger insisted: “The society is definitely not in crisis. We will have our council meeting as normal at the end of the month to address outstanding problems and formalise a plan to move forward. 
“There are a lot of mixed messages out there, so we will try and keep our members more up to date,” he said, adding that board members to replace those who resigned will be ratified then, along with the question of any need for another chief executive.
Instead, Mr Sanger was more enthusiastic about the World Angus Forum, which was coming back to the Scotland for the first time in 40 years.
“We have the World Forum to focus on, which is a massive task and while it is unfortunate we no longer have one or two individuals working with us, it just means the rest of us will have to work harder.
“The society office is running as normal and we have a very good team of people surrounding us to help. We have been in close conversation with our sponsors and they are perfectly happy with communications,” said Mr Sanger.
To date, in excess of 250 delegates from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, India, Argentina, South Africa, Hungary, Sweden, and Estonia, have signed up for the event and many more – either for the full package or individual days – are expected on the run up to it, which commences on June 16.
Forum co-ordinator, Hazel Baxter, said that some 50 events have been organised to run over 16 days, enabling delegates to view many of the country’s leading cattle herds, while also enjoying the country, culture and social aspect of UK and Scottish farming.
The £500,000 project incorporates the Royal Highland Show, which this year has attracted 150 Aberdeen-Angus entries and various youth development programme competitions. This includes a two-day conference to highlight the benefits of Angus beef.
“Aberdeen-Angus is no longer a breed of cattle, but a global brand and an integral part of the food chain that we have to capitalise on and take into the 21st century,” James Playfair Hannay pointed out. 
“We have technical and practical farmers using new technology, who will be speaking on the benefits of Angus beef and how to take the breed forward for a market which is demanding increasing levels of authenticity.
“We know we have the best cattle in the world and cattle that are good for the planet being able to convert green grass into valuable protein, but we will also soon know why that is,” said Mr Playfair Hannay, who said there will be real opportunities to do business with delegates from around the world.